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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24124930">Glad To Meet You Again</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/aweirdkindofyellow/pseuds/aweirdkindofyellow'>aweirdkindofyellow</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>All Time Low (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Friendship, Marriage, Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:01:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,531</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24124930</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/aweirdkindofyellow/pseuds/aweirdkindofyellow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A past relationship did not end up very well. Now it’s nearly six years later, and they meet again.</p><p>Lena Conrad and Alex Gaskarth used to be the couple that everybody wanted to be. They were too cute for words, a perfect couple that seemed like they were soulmates. As you would say nowadays, they were #couplegoals. But that only lasted for three years. Some say they were too young to face the problems they were going through, resulting in their breakup, but others would say that even if they had been through it when older, they wouldn’t have made it. They hadn’t seen each other since that messy breakup, until now.</p><p>Six years later, Alex is still playing in a band and Lena is a stay at home mom taking care of her five-year-old son. Only one of them knew they’d cross paths again on this specific day.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alex Gaskarth/Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character/Original Male Character</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. ---------</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lena didn’t often go to concerts, let alone did she ever take her five-year-old, Nick, along with her. There was a time she used to go to concerts on a daily basis, especially when she was on tour with her ex-boyfriend, Alex Gaskarth, lead singer and guitarist of All Time Low. It was a hectic life, but in her early twenties, she only enjoyed the traveling around and the unexpectedness. Going to one concert, however, was already way different than being on the road. This was just one evening of chaos and excitement, something she hadn’t experienced in years. The ironic thing, though, was that this happened to be an All Time Low concert again.<br/><br/>But that doesn’t explain why Lena was going in the first place. Well, it certainly wasn’t because it was an All Time Low concert. That just happened to be a coincidence. Luckily she knew, or it would have been a very unexpected and quite unpleasant surprise. But All Time Low was the headlining act, so there was no way she could have missed it. She wasn’t coming for them, though. She was coming for one of the supporting acts, whose lead singer happened to be one of her boyfriend’s very close friends, who over time had grown to be a great friend to her as well. So, she was there to support him, not to rekindle anything with Alex or the rest of the band.<br/><br/>Now, why was Nick coming along and where was Anthony, her boyfriend? Well, they were all going to go, but then something came up, leaving Lena to go alone with her son. Nick still wanted to see his ‘uncle’, and she wouldn’t take away that from him. He was like a role model to the boy and he always seemed to be the one that got along best with him. Even guys covered in tattoos and called Scott Schaffer knew how to deal with kids, something most people didn’t believe was possible. But he was living proof.<br/><br/>Despite the fact that her ex-boyfriend was definitely going to be there, Lena didn’t really mind. Their breakup might have been absolutely horrible, ending in a shouting match and a lot of tears, but that had been six years ago. She had long moved on since then, quickly having found somebody else, having had a son, and having a life she always wanted. Maybe seeing him wouldn’t do any bad. Maybe it was for the better, to show each other that they had moved on from what happened. It could possibly end up with them being friends again.<br/><br/>So, she confidently got out of the car with Nick and walked up to the back entrance. She acted like she knew exactly where she was going, ignoring the few stares she got from the young fans waiting out in the line to get inside the venue. There was a small fear that some of them would recognize her, but she also knew that it would be very unlikely since it had been so long ago. Many of the fans probably didn’t even know about All Time Low’s existence back when they were still dating. She just didn’t want rumors starting, turning it into an unnecessary messy situation.<br/><br/>Once at the door, she was greeted by a security guard. She knew exactly how the process went, having used to do this quite often, and already had her ID ready in her purse. As expected, all she had to do was give her name and show her ID. Nick got to pass through without any problem since it didn’t seem like a five-year-old would try to sneak in, especially with his mother on the guest list.<br/><br/>When they were let inside, Lena could feel Nick shaking with excitement. He got to see his uncle frequently, but he rarely got to see him in action live. This was something so special, and he couldn’t wait to see it. He wanted to be just like Scott when he was older. At five years old, Nick had already decided that he wanted to be in a band.<br/><br/>“Are you excited, buddy?” Lena smiled brightly, feeding off her son’s energy, her voice just as bubbly as it always had been.<br/><br/>“We get to see uncle Scott play!” Nick chirped back, doing a couple of jumps to show just how delighted he was.<br/><br/>She ruffled his floppy blondish-brown hair that was getting darker and darker as he got older, and pulled out her phone to text her boyfriend. He might have been busy with work, but of course he still wanted to know if Lena and Nick got to the venue safely and were let in. Lena kept hold of Nick’s hand while texting Anthony, simultaneously walking down the hallway that led to all the dressing rooms.<br/><br/>If only she hadn’t tried to multitask.<br/><br/>Just after hitting send, she slammed into another body, startling both her and the other person. She let go of Nick and looked up to the stranger to apologize profusely. As she held up her hands in protection and saw who is was, she felt even worse. This was not how she had wanted it to go at all. Right there, the man she walked into: Alex. He looked right back at her with widened eyes, questioning his sanity. He never expected to see his ex-girlfriend again, this couldn’t be real. Maybe the person who walked into him made him fall over and gave him a concussion.<br/><br/>But, no. She really was there.<br/><br/>“Lena?” Another voice from behind Alex said, Jack appearing from the door to the right. “What are you doing here?”<br/><br/>Nick carefully shuffled closer to his mother’s leg, not sure what to make of the two tall men in front of him. Lena put a reassuring hand on his head and gave the guys a smile. “What most people are here for: to watch the show.”<br/><br/>“How did you even get backstage?” Jack questioned next while Alex was speechless; he didn’t know what to do.<br/><br/>“By being on the guest list,” Lena joked back, running her fingers through her son’s hair. When she imagined introducing her son to her ex-boyfriend and his best friends, she had imagined it to go very differently. They would have already seen her with the support act, and then they could be reintroduced or something.<br/><br/>Before Jack could try to dig any further, Scott Schaffer came out of one of the other dressing rooms and saw the people he had invited to come see the show from side-stage. He looked at his favorite nephew and jogged up to them. “There’s my favorite Brooks!” He picked up the boy and raised him to put him on his shoulders.<br/><br/>It was only then that Jack and Alex noticed that there was a five-year-old around. They were too focused on Lena to see that there was another person. It didn’t help that Nick was hiding a little behind his mother. But now he was easily seen, raised up above everybody else.<br/><br/>“Oh, I’m not your favorite?” Lena challenged, giving her friend a side hug and a kiss on the cheek.<br/><br/>“You see, you’re technically not a Brooks,” Scott returned with a mock serious face. “you’d have to get married for that.”<br/><br/>“I keep forgetting that.” She had been together with Anthony for so long that his family already felt like family to her. She was just as much a Brooks as he was. It just wasn’t registered legally.<br/><br/>“You are going to have to do something about it.” Scott continued to play along before looking up at the young boy on his shoulders. “How’s your screaming going?”<br/><br/>Nick shook his head and shrugged. “Not so good. I think I’m going to stay with singing.”<br/><br/>“You know, your father was always better at singing as well. Leave all the screaming to me.”<br/><br/>Nick nodded this time, a grin spread across his face. “He tired, but he said it ruined his voice, so he stopped. I don’t want to break mine either! It sounds like it would hurt.”<br/><br/>“Sounds like a good plan,” Scott agreed. While his music didn’t contain any screaming now, he could do it and had once made the mistake of telling Nick. Nick wanting to be just like his uncle, tried to copy it. But let’s just say it wasn’t the best thing to do.<br/><br/>“How about I show you around?” He suggested towards Nick next, who nodded furiously, and then turned back to Lena. “Too bad Anthony couldn’t be here, or I would have totally shown off what he’s missing now that he isn’t in a band with me anymore.”<br/><br/>When the two of them sprinted off, Jack and Alex were still staring at Lena with bewilderment. They still couldn’t process what was going on. Here was a girl they both knew, with a son and she had some relation to the guy they were touring with.<br/><br/>“Who’s Anthony?” Jack asked the question Alex was thinking as well. The latter just wouldn’t dare ask it out of fear that he would be accused of still having feelings.<br/><br/>“My boyfriend,” Lena clarified, actually happy that that was going to be brought out of the way early on, “he used to play in a band with Scott years ago. They’re still best friends now.”<br/><br/>“A band?” Alex blurted out, his filter not being able to stop him in time. He wanted to hit his head against the wall to tell his brain to not be so stupid and betray him like that.<br/><br/>Why was it such a big deal that he said that? Well, it was what broke up Lena and Alex. The band was unsigned after having released an album on Interscope, and it put a strain on their relationship. Alex was stressing out a lot about what to do next, and Lena accused him of only caring about the band and ignoring her. Of course, this didn’t sit right with Alex, and the fight started. Lena made him chose between the band and her, and it’s obvious how that ended. Ever since it happened, Lena had beaten herself up about it. She never wanted it to come out that way, but it’s how it went down. There was no way to change it. She had never wanted to force Alex to make a decision like that.<br/><br/>“Yeah,” Lena nodded, trying to keep up her smile to make it less awkward, “but he’s a producer now. He quit just after we met. It was his decision, I had nothing to do with it, in case you were wondering…”<br/><br/>Alex nodded, not really sure what to do with the information. For some reason, it surprised him that she went to a band guy right after having broken up with him for the sole reason of him being in a band. And it totally wasn’t fishy that said guy quit being in a band after meeting Lena. Maybe getting away hadn’t been such a bad idea that long ago.<br/><br/>“By the way, I want to apologize for that.” Lena decided to tell him, not knowing if the subject would ever arise again. “I shouldn’t have made you choose. I never meant for that to happen and I’m so glad you made the right decision. I’m not trying to make it all better now, but I just thought it would be a good idea to apologize now that we both moved on from it, you know?”<br/><br/>“Yeah, of course.” Alex gave her an awkward reassuring pat on the arm. He wasn’t sure if he had completely moved on from it. Yes, he had gotten over Lena, but how was he expected to move on from something that had affected him so much? The breakup had ruined him, and he was always so afraid that something was going to force him to make a decision like that again.<br/><br/>“Is that little dude your son?” Jack tried to change the subject a little, knowing that Alex always had some leftover feelings about how they had broken up.<br/><br/>Lena nodded, her mood elating almost immediately. “Yeah, his name’s Nick. He’s five years old,”<br/><br/>“Five years old?” Jack tried to seem neutral, but he couldn’t help but squint his eyes a little as he did the math.<br/><br/>“Yep. Anyway, I should probably go find him before Scott gets him into playing the drums or something.” Lena chuckled and rushed into the direction she had seen the two run off into before. It wasn’t that she was against Nick wanting to expand his creativity, but she wasn’t sure if she could stand the noise.<br/><br/>When Lena had turned around the corner, Jack looked right at Alex with worried eyes. No, not because he was afraid Alex would be upset about seeing his ex-girlfriend again, but for a whole other reason that was way more worrisome. Although his forte had never been math, he could figure this one out.<br/><br/>“Is it just me, or does that boy look like a miniature version of you?” Jack muttered so that only Alex would be able to hear.<br/><br/>Alex looked back at his best friend, his heart dropping. “I thought I was imagining it.”<br/><br/>“Umm, okay… but we can’t be sure, can we? I mean, sure he’s five and you guys broke up almost exactly six years ago. But anything could have happened right?” Jack tried to reassure his friend that it wasn’t what they were thinking. There was no way that their shared idea was right.<br/><br/>But then Rian came stumbling up, laughing about something he came from. “Dude, Alex, I swore I just saw a child that looked exactly like you!”<br/><br/>That was the last thing needed for Alex’s smile to drop completely. As much as he wanted to deny it, it was impossible. Nick looked just like he did as a kid. He gulped as he tried to steady his heart rate. “Lena’s here with her five-year-old son.”<br/><br/>Rian dropped the drumsticks he was holding and glanced between his two bandmates, hoping to see that either of them was joking. But Alex’s greenish-pale complexion and Jack’s static facial features said otherwise. They weren’t fucking around with him, this was actually happening. This wasn’t something they would joke about. Why would they even include Lena in it if they were lying?<br/><br/>A little later, when Scott’s band was playing, Lena and Nick were watching side-stage. Jack decided to watch along with them, Alex feeling too light headed to go as well, but they needed some answers. If Lena actually was there with Alex’s son, they needed to know. She couldn’t just hide it from him. The only problem was that Jack had no idea how to introduce to topic without weirding her out.<br/><br/>But then he heard Nick singing along loudly with his uncle’s music. He wasn’t half that bad, especially for a five-year-old. If he continued to work on it, he’d be able to sing like it was nobody’s business when he was older.<br/><br/>Jack, shuffled a bit closer to Lena and leaned in so they could talk over the loud music. He pointed at Nick. “He can sing pretty well. I’m impressed.”<br/><br/>“All the talent comes from his father’s side. There’s a reason he was a lead singer, not me.” Lena replied, knowing just as well that her son was unrealistically good, and not just because every mom wanted their child to be special and do really well at something. Nick really did have a talent.<br/><br/>“Oh, yeah, right. You said your boyfriend used to play in a band,” Jack nodded, waiting for Lena to tell him that her boyfriend wasn’t the father of the child.<br/><br/>“Exactly.” Lena nodded, not giving Jack the answer he wanted. “He would have been so good at it if he continued, but he always dreamed of producing music, so he took his chance. He’s pretty good at it, if I say so myself. Of course, he doesn’t produce music for pop acts, but he’s worked with many up-and-coming rock bands.”<br/><br/>“Maybe we should work with him sometime?” He wanted so bad for Lena to get uncomfortable and say no, just to give him a signal that something was off.<br/><br/>But, no. She was cool with it. “Oh, that would be so awesome. I’m pretty sure he would love to, and I could probably get you a cheaper rate. He’s open to so many things. If you want to make a record with some weird influences or if you want to do something you often do, he’ll be all up for it.”<br/><br/>“Really? I’ll talk to the others about it.” Jack gave her a thumbs up, still expecting her to suddenly change her mind now that he was actually considering it.<br/><br/>“Awesome, and no hard feelings if you decide not to.” She said as she swayed along with the music.<br/><br/>Jack took this as a sign and pushed a little. “You don’t want us to?”<br/><br/>“No, of course I want you to! I just don’t want you to feel bad or obliged to do something just because you don’t want to hurt me or something.”<br/><br/>“Oh, okay…” He tried a different approach by mentioning another feature about her son. “He’s got an interesting hair color.”<br/><br/>Although it was a weird thing to say, Lena shrugged it off as it just being Jack. He might have looked way more grown up, but maybe he was still as obscure as the Jack she used to know. “It used to be way more blonde. I feel like he’ll have brown hair before he’s a teenager. It only makes sense; I have brown hair, his dad has brown hair.”<br/><br/>“You know, I’d love to meet his dad <em>or</em> your boyfriend some day.” Jack tried to emphasize a little that he thought that they were too separate people, but Lena didn’t seem to notice. He even had some suspicions that Lena was lying about either the dad or the boyfriend. She was too off with everything going on.<br/><br/>“You totally should come over next time you’re in town. I’ll give you my address.”<br/><br/>“We actually have a day off tomorrow, so we could probably come by then.”<br/><br/>Lena quickly grabbed a pen and a small piece of paper out of the shoulder bag she was wearing and quickly wrote down the address, not really thinking about the fact that Jack could easily lose it with how unorganized he was. "You should."<br/><br/>“That actually doesn’t sound too bad.” Jack smiled with a nod, thinking it would be the perfect plan to get it out of her if she wasn’t going to tell them before she left. “Now, I’m going to get a beer, would you like one too?”<br/><br/>“Oh, no, I don’t drink.” Lena scrunched up her nose, a beer sounding like the worst possible thing that Jack could have suggested to her.<br/><br/>“No way, I don’t believe you!” He gasped loudly and let out a high-pitched noise when Lena shrugged to show she was being serious. “You used to be the queen of flip-cup! You could take on an entire time all by yourself.”<br/><br/>“I haven’t had a drop ever since I found out I was pregnant with Nick.”<br/><br/>Jack shrugged and decided to get a water bottle for his reacquainted friend. He didn’t just want to ask her if she wanted beer just to not give her anything else when she said she didn’t drink. So, he went back to his dressing room to get both the beverages. On the couch, Alex was sat twirling his hair around his finger and bouncing his leg up and down.<br/><br/>“You okay, dude?” Jack asked as he got the bottles out of the fridge provided by the venue.<br/><br/>Alex snapped his head towards the sound, not having noticed somebody walking in. He immediately stopped the movements he was making and acted like everything was fine. “Yeah, it’s just weird to see her again, ya know?”<br/><br/>“Yeah.” Jack nodded, feeling bad that Alex was so anxious. “By the way, I’m trying to get Lena to spill if he’s your son. So far, it’s not really working, but we might be able to do so tomorrow.”<br/><br/><em>“Tomorrow?”<br/></em><br/>----<br/><br/>The next day, Jack decided to take up on the thing Lena had offered. Everybody in All Time Low piled into a van and drove to the address scribbled on a note that Jack had received. When they had typed it into the map on their phones, they found out that it was only forty-five minutes away, which wasn’t such a long way for what they were used to. It was unusual to spend a day off like this. Normally, they’d explore the town they were in and go their separate ways, but as far as they knew, this time they were going to spend the entire day at the house of one of their ex-best friends.<br/><br/>“So…” Zack decided to break the uncomfortable silence that was hanging around for the first ten minutes. “What are you going to do if you find out the kid’s yours?”<br/><br/>Alex massaged his temples and took his eye off the window to look at his friend instead. “I don’t know, Zack. That’s what I’m trying to figure out now. For all we know, he isn’t even mine.”<br/><br/>“But he looks so much like you!” Rian intervened, knowing his words were probably not helping, but also not wanting Alex to build up… false hope? No, that wasn’t the right word. He just didn’t want Alex to deny that it could be a possibility only to be hit with it later.<br/><br/>“Everybody has look-a-likes. He might not look anything like me anymore in a few years! Maybe it’s just all a coincidence.” Alex raised an eyebrow as if he had just scientifically proven that it wasn’t possible.<br/><br/>“Oh my god, Alex,” Zack groaned, running a hand through his hair, “stop trying to deny it. There is quite a high chance he’s yours. Brace yourself for it.”<br/><br/>“Okay, alright.” Alex held up his hands in defense and rolled his eyes a little to show he was fed up with his bandmates constantly bugging him about it. “If I am, I don’t know what I’ll do. I mean, I don’t want to be that other guy who happens to be his biological father. Right now, it seems like that child really does believe Lena’s boyfriend is his father.”<br/><br/>“So, you’d try to get said boyfriend out of the picture?” Jack wondered out loud, bringing his hand to his chin to put on a thinking face.<br/><br/>“No,” Alex scoffed, almost appalled that somebody would even suggest something like that, “I mean, I don’t know, maybe.”<br/><br/>“You’d actually get back with your ex because she had your son?”<br/><br/>“Well, what the hell would you do?!”<br/><br/>“I’m just asking if you’d be happy with her. You guys did break up for a reason. She did make you choose between us and her,” Jack muttered, feeling personally attacked by Alex.<br/><br/>“And she apologized last night, saying she never meant to say anything like that. There’s no reason for me to resent her anymore.” Alex pointed out, trying to picture his life if he was with Lena again. He didn’t even care about how he was planning on getting there, but it didn’t seem all too bad. They had loved each other so much before, they could definitely get there again.<br/><br/>Rian sighed, feeling bad for his best friend. “Please don’t tell me you’re actually considering it.”<br/><br/>“I wouldn’t want it if it turns out he isn’t my son, but I could deal with it if he is.”<br/><br/>“Let’s just find out what is actually going on before we make dramatic decisions like that, ok?”<br/><br/>Alex nodded in agreement and went back to staring out of the window. Although he didn’t want to seem like he was in deep thought, he couldn’t help but think about what his life would have been like if he and Lena hadn’t broken up all those years ago. Considering that he believed that they wouldn’t have ever broken up otherwise, the only pictures Alex could imagine were happy things. They would have been a happy family. Nick would have idolized him, always asking him for singing and guitar lessons. Lena would watch them with a loving smile gracing her lips, feeding their baby girl. It was perfect, something any guy dreamed of having. Alex had to keep reminding himself that breaking up was the right thing to do, or he wouldn’t have been giving his son music lessons and there would have been no way that he was actually as happy as in his daydream. But then again, maybe they would have worked it out if they had pushed through. Lena did say she never meant for it to come out that way, so he could have found another solution.<br/><br/>“Bro, we’re here.” Jack hit his shoulder, making him snap out of the imagination. Everybody had already gotten out of the van and was standing in the sunny warm outside weather.<br/><br/>“Oh, sorry.” Alex rubbed his eyes and climbed over the seats to get to go out as well. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he had no idea what he was looking at. Well, he knew it was a house, but he had no idea Lena would ever live in a place like that.<br/><br/>The property was fenced, the gate open for anybody to go on the driveway. But that wasn’t what shook him. The house had a nice suburban feel to it, but it was twice as big as your usual house, and the white contrasting to the red bricks somehow made it fall into the modern category. Alex had expected to find Lena living in just a common house that looked identical to the ones around it. But she seemed to be doing really well for herself. Living in a house like this did not mean the income was coming from a usual job.<br/><br/>The boys entered the property and walked up to the front door. One of them rang the doorbell, and shortly after, the dark wooden door opened and the same girl from the night before was stood behind it. Her face lit up as she saw her old friends, ushering them all inside before they would get a sunburn or anything of the like.<br/><br/>“Sorry for the mess,” she chuckled, believing that the slightly shifted carpet already made the house look unordered, “Nick has a friend over and they’re running all over the place.”<br/><br/>“This is not a mess at all. I wish my house would occasionally look like this!” Jack looked around at the modern and simplistic interior.<br/><br/>“I’d probably have a panic attack if my house was ever as messy as yours, Jack,” Lena joked, but everybody knew it was probably also to truth, especially Alex. When they lived together, she’d also freak out over every little thing he left lying around. He used to think it was so annoying, but when she moved out, he was pretty glad he had been drilled. The first couple of days, or even weeks, hadn’t gone so well.<br/><br/>Lena made them follow her into the living room. Once again, the entire open space was as clean as could be. There were French doors with large matching windows facing the garden, the clear clue pool right in the middle. This place was a dream house for anybody, and here Lena was living in it. The guys were so amazed by it all, but she didn’t even make it seem like anything special.<br/><br/>The laughter of Nick and his friend could be heard while Lena asked the All Time Low guys if they wanted to have something to drink. She got herself some tea while returning with three beers and one water for the guys. While Lena herself didn’t drink any alcohol, and Anthony didn't drink much either, they always had some laying around for guests. No, they didn’t have frequent guests, but they always stocked up for family events and were left with some at the end.<br/><br/>The five of them were catching up when Lena’s boyfriend appeared. He was entering through the French doors, coming from outside, or more likely the studio in the pool house, wearing a white tank-top and black basketball shorts, his hair a complete mess. While eating a bowl of cereal, he saw the strangers in his living room and froze up. It looked like he had just woken up despite it already being the afternoon.<br/><br/>He looked down at his appearance and grimaced. “If I knew we had people over, I would have made myself look a little better.”<br/><br/>“And how would you have done that?” Lena laughed, her smile causing the skin around her eyes to wrinkle.<br/><br/>“Sneak in through the front door, obviously.” Anthony took another bite of his cereal and acted like his answer was the most logical solution.<br/><br/>Jack wasn’t sure what to think or how to feel. He was more busy with taking in the guy’s appearance and trying to remember what Nick looked like. Anthony had a slightly shorter haircut and a bit lighter hair than Alex, they both had bushy eyebrows and brown eyes, but their smiles were very different, and Anthony’s ears were more pointed. If Alex had been out of the picture, Jack would have totally believed that Lena’s boyfriend was Nick’s father, but it wasn’t that way. To him, Nick looked just a little more like Alex.<br/><br/>With the French doors still open, a dog that the All Time Low members hadn’t seen before suddenly came running in, knocking hard against Anthony’s legs. He managed to regain his balance quickly without trouble, barely moving an inch, but it meant the bowl of cereal had to be sacrificed and all the milk poured onto his shirt.<br/><br/>“Are you kidding me?” Anthony groaned, ignoring the dog that was now further into the living room.<br/><br/>Lena giggled, only showing how much she was in love with the man. “You should know by now that you shouldn’t stand at an open door like that.”<br/><br/>“Yeah, that’s the worst part, this isn’t the first time it’s happened. I’ve had that dog for seven years and I never learn.” He ran a hand through his knotted and borderline greasy hair and went to bring his now empty bowl to the kitchen. “Sofa, you’re supposed to be old and tired by now, not trying to make me fall over!”<br/><br/>“Sofa?” Rian inquired, believing he hadn’t heard the name right. There was no way they had a dog called Sofa, that was just strange.<br/><br/>“Yeah, well, she used to be called Sophia,” Lena explained during the few seconds that Anthony wasn’t around anymore, “but then Nick started to learn how to talk. He couldn’t pronounce it and kept calling her ‘Sofa’, so it kinda stuck.”<br/><br/>“Ah.” He nodded, now no longer thinking it was as weird. At least they had a good explanation behind it.<br/><br/>Anthony came back, his shirt now taken off, showing the tanned abs and chest with a few tattoos he had. If any girl had to choose between having a one-night-stand with Alex or Anthony based solely on their bodies and not any feelings, many would probably have chosen Lena’s boyfriend. He had claimed multiple times that he was going to work on his dad-bod, only to go back to the gym soon after. It was just a norm for him.<br/><br/>“At least it’s forcing me to take a shower, so it’s all good.” Anthony put on the grin that made Lena’s heart flutter when they had just started dating, and started making his way toward the stairs.<br/><br/>“You better before you start smelling like sour milk!” Lena shouted after him before turning back to the people she believed were her friends again. Little did she know they also had an alternate motive.<br/><br/>“So that’s the boyfriend that somehow led you back to us.” Zack whistled and nodded his head as if to show that he was impressed with what Lena was able to catch.<br/><br/>“Yep, six years strong.” Lena nodded, feeling some tension building in the room. She wanted them to meet her boyfriend, but them questioning her about him felt a little off. “He’s been working day and night to finish mixing an album, hence why he looked so homeless.”<br/><br/>“Six years?” Jack gaped. He couldn’t believe it. It hadn’t even been six years since she had broken up with Alex. Had she been cheating as well?”<br/><br/>Lena rolled her eyes, knowing what Jack was getting at. “<em>Almost</em> six years. I met him like a month or so after Alex and I ended things. It wasn’t supposed to be anything serious, but look where we are now.”<br/><br/>“Wow… Alex was probably at his worst after one month, I’m surprised to hear you were already dating other guys by then.” Rian added, trying to force the conversation in the direction they needed it to go.<br/><br/>Alex sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Thanks for embarrassing me guys, you’re doing great.”<br/><br/>“If it makes you feel any better, I was only looking for a rebound. Anthony knew and we had a no-strings-attached kind of deal, but it sort of turned into something more. I never intended to jump over to the next guy so quickly.” Lena told them the honest truth, hoping it would stop them from wanting to dig even deeper into the beginning of her relationship. But it only did the opposite.<br/><br/>Jack had to cut straight to the chase. “Because you found out you were pregnant with Nick.”<br/><br/>“Um, no.” Lena shook her head, taking offense from Jack’s comment. This was going too far. “I found out after we started seriously dating. I mean, I probably got pregnant early on in the whole relationship, but it’s not the reason why we decided to take a further step.”<br/><br/>“How early on in the relationship?” Jack pushed next.<br/><br/>“Jack,” Alex groaned to stop the other. He could sense that it was making Lena uncomfortable, but not because she was trying to hide something. To her, this was just him trying to find out every little detail about her relationship. This was not ok.<br/><br/>“What do you want me to tell you?” Lena glared at Jack, not understanding how her hyper friend from years ago had changed so much. “That Alex and I broke up, that I went out to find somebody as a rebound, that I met Anthony, that three weeks in we decided to start dating, that eventually I took a pregnancy test at the doctors and that they said one to two months pregnant? Do you also want to know all the details about the sex? Do you want me to tell you what it was like meeting each other’s parents for the first time? I can go on and tell you all the details, but I don’t think that all really matters.”<br/><br/>“One to two months?” Alex repeated in a hushed voice, needing to know when she had taken the test.<br/><br/>However, Alex wasn’t intending on asking any further questions, not wanting to make Lena get furious. But she heard his thought quite clearly. All she wanted was to rekindle her friendship with the All Time Low guys now that she had the opportunity, but all she was getting was how rude they were being. If she knew that this would have happened when she invited them over, she would have never done it.<br/><br/>“Yes, one to two months.” Lena nodded in an over exaggerated way, her voice showcasing her frustration. “Does it really matter? I don’t get why you’re so interested in how my relationship started and when Nick was-- oh my god…” Her eyes doubled in size when it hit her. She stood up from the couch and looked at the four boys in front of her before her gaze rested on Alex. Her head shook in disbelief. “No…”<br/><br/>“Wait, you didn’t know that this was a possibility?” Jack stiffened up, starting to feel guilty for interrogating her. He really thought that she was trying to keep it a secret even though they were right in front of her.<br/><br/>“No, no, it’s not possible,” Lena said, but it was more to reassure herself. “They said one to two months, not two to three.”<br/><br/>Rian decided to be the responsible one and try to guide her through the thoughts she was having. “Okay, well, how far into your relationship did you find out?”<br/><br/>“I’m not sure anymore… I’m guessing just over a month?” She ran her hands over her face, glad that she never wore too much makeup. “Which leaves enough time for it to possibly be… oh my god…”<br/><br/>Throughout it all, Alex had been staring out in front of him, only half hearing the conversation going on around him. He couldn’t comprehend what was going on anymore. Sure, he came here to find out whether or not he had a son, but now that it actually came to it, he didn’t know what to do. There was no certainty that Nick was his, but it made it all so real. Alex was a little mad that he maybe hadn’t had a chance to be there the first five years, confused because he never even thought it could have happened, happy because it would mean he had a child, sad because he wasn’t prepared. There were too many emotions to deal with for him to be able to act ok.<br/><br/>It was exactly the moment that Anthony decided to walk back in. He had Nick hanging off his neck and Nick’s friend hanging off his leg, carrying them forward with him. The two young boys were giggling, having too much fun for words, causing Anthony to have a great big grin on his face as well. His son’s happiness meant his happiness.<br/><br/>“I’m a human jungle gym!” Anthony exclaimed, not sensing the nature of the scene in front of him yet. But as soon as he saw his girlfriend bent over, her hands covering her mouth, her elbows resting on her legs, her eyes showing signs that she was about to cry, he knew something was up. He shook the boys off and told them to go play outside for the time being.<br/><br/>Before he could ask what was going on, he saw Alex’s gaze follow Nick as he ran outside, and Jack and Zack looking at Alex, Rian having a hand on Lena’s back to comfort her. It was like he didn’t even need to hear it. He could feel exactly what was going on and it made him sick to his stomach. As much as he wanted to deny it, he couldn’t walk away from the scene. If he walked away, everything was only going to get worse. He had to be the bigger man here and suck it up for everybody involved.<br/><br/>But still, he couldn’t help but let his first reaction get to him. Shaking his head, he took his time to individually look at the people in front of him. “No.”<br/><br/>Lena turned her head to finally look back at her boyfriend and tears started prickling her eyes. All this time, she hadn’t even thought of the possibility that Alex was the father of her child. Now she couldn’t help but feel guilty and as if she had betrayed Anthony. Ever since they found out she was pregnant, she made him believe that he definitely was the father. She didn’t know any better, but she couldn’t help but feel like a disappointment.<br/><br/>“Nobody’s going to tell me that it’s not what I’m thinking?” Anthony asked out in hidden desperation, sighing when nobody answered him. He never thought he would be in the situation of not being sure whether he was the father of a child or not.<br/><br/>It was obvious that nobody was going to fix what was going on or come up with any solution whatsoever, so Anthony decided to take it upon himself to come up with rational decisions and try to compensate what everybody wanted and needed. He joined the others, only sitting on the coffee table instead of the couch so he could look at everybody.<br/><br/>“I’m so sorry,” Lena whimpered, trying her best to make sure she didn’t break out in tears. She felt like she was hurting both Alex and Anthony with her actions. This wasn’t how she expected the day to go at all.<br/><br/>Anthony decided to ask one question before going any further and starting his reasoning. “Are you sure he’s the father?”<br/><br/>Alex snapped his head to look up at him, finally coming out of his trance. He expected Lena’s boyfriend to get furious and lash out somehow, but he looked like the only person that was in some sort of way composed. For some reason, Alex wanted both Nick to be his son and not. On one hand, he wasn’t sure if he could deal with it, but on the other, he couldn’t help but feel a little happy. He could only imagine what Anthony was going through.<br/><br/>Lena shook her head, telling him that she didn’t know anymore. Anthony held out his hand to hold hers and ran his thumb over her knuckles once their hands were interlocked. He pulled her a little bit and motioned for her to come sit in his lap, which she did. As soon as she was sat down and wrapped in his arms, one single tear ran down her cheek. She was so afraid of what was going to happen. It could lead to her losing both potential fathers. But all Anthony did was hold her and kissed the top of her head.<br/><br/>Alex felt like he needed to do something as well, maybe hold her hand as well and say some comforting words, but he couldn’t. Not because he didn’t want to, but because it was obvious that he wasn’t the one to do that anymore. She had Anthony to do all of the comforting, he had no part in that. He wasn’t as important. If it ever came between the two of them, he knew that Lena would always choose her boyfriend.<br/><br/>Anthony looked at Alex, mainly directing his words to him. “If you want to, we can get a paternity test done to see who’s the father.”<br/><br/>Lena cringed at the words, never having wanted to have it come down to this. She always thought she’d know who the father of her baby was. She wasn’t stupid enough to sleep around with multiple guys at once. The only mistake she made was trying to move on too quickly. She didn’t think she’d get pregnant so early on in her relationship with Anthony… or so late with Alex...<br/><br/>Alex nodded, but only to make Anthony continue with his plan. Only getting the test was going to leave even more questions unanswered. “And then?”<br/><br/>Anthony shrugged, not having thought that far ahead yet, but willing to come up with something on the spot. “If you turn out to be the father, you can be in his life. Nick will get to know as soon as possible, that’s just the right thing to do. But I will always also be a father figure to him, we can’t change that anymore. I’m always going to be around.”<br/><br/>“And if I’m not?” Alex asked next, a little of disappointment shown through his eyes, but not through his voice. Only Anthony could see it, making him feel for the guy he never met before but knew from many pictures.<br/><br/>“Then I’m going to be the only father in Nick’s life. I do, however, want to give you the possibility of being like an uncle to him. All of you guys, really. But if you want that, you’re going to have to be around. If you’re not friends with us or do anything to try and be really good friends and role models to Nick, you can forget about it. I understand that you’re on tour the entire time, but all it takes are simple things. Scott’s been able to do it, you guys can probably fit your way in as well.”<br/><br/>Lena stayed quiet the entire time, listening to the words of the guy she loved with all her heart. He was being so compassionate and he didn’t even have to be. Most guys would have gotten so mad, not only at the other guy but also at her. Although she couldn’t have done anything about it, she would have lost everything that meant so much to her. But here Anthony was, being way too good for her. She didn’t deserve him being so understanding, but it’s how he had always been. It’s what had caught her eye before they decided to start dating.<br/><br/>Alex also didn’t understand. He thought he would have come out of it all with a busted lip and a black eye, especially with how ripped the guy was. Maybe he did have Zack who would have protected him, but if a guy really was mad, he was going to do more damage than he seemed capable of. Not even Jack was attacked despite being such a douchebag.<br/><br/>“Okay,” Alex agreed.<br/><br/>The remainder of the time, they discussed a little while longer how everything was going to happen. They all exchanged phone numbers to be able to contact each other for when the test was actually going to take place. All Time Low first had to finish their tour, and they somehow had to get Nick to give a sample as well without giving him any false information. But after all that was done, they tried to fall back into a normal conversation. It started off difficult, but eventually it became more natural. With both the solutions Anthony had given, they were going to have to get along anyway. It was only a good idea to get a head start. Lena was the only one that was still quite distant, completely shaken up about what had just happened.<br/><br/>When it was time for the All Time Low guys to go back again, Lena and Anthony led them back to the front door and waved until they were out of sight. They couldn’t say that the meeting had been a good one, but it also hadn’t necessarily been a bad one. All they could do was move forward with what they had found out and hope that everything was going to be OK in the future. Hopefully, Alex would step up if he was the father, and Anthony promised to always be there, calming Lena’s heart for there was one more thing.<br/><br/>“I promise that our next baby is certainly yours,” she told Anthony as they stood in the hallway, her arms wrapped around his neck and his hands on her waist.<br/><br/>“Of course, and I know that.” Anthony nodded, giving her a smile to show that he wasn’t mad about anything that happened.<br/><br/>“No, really, I promise. I know for sure.”<br/><br/>“Yeah. I don’t expect anything else.”<br/><br/>Lena had to resist the urge to roll her eyes and bit back her grin. “You’re just going to have to wait six more months.”<br/><br/>Anthony frowned, his eyebrows furrowing as the grip on his girlfriend loosened. “Six more months?”<br/><br/>“Until we have another baby in this house.”<br/><br/>“No way! You’re lying!” He gasped, his eyes lighting up with excitement. He knew he always wanted more kids with Lena, he just didn’t know when. But now was the perfect timing.<br/><br/>She let her grin spread across her face and nodded to show him that she was being truthful. “I found out a week ago.”<br/><br/>Anthony firmly planted his lips on hers, not being able to wait for the next chapter to come. Whatever happened, he was still going to have his perfect family, whether Alex was included or not. Nick was always going to be his son, and now he had another child on the way.<br/><br/>The mood in the van, however, wasn’t as joyful. It was quite somber actually, even though the day hadn’t ended on a bad note. They all got along with each other, there was nothing to be upset about. But it didn’t feel that way.<br/><br/>“What wrong?” Jack asked Alex, noticing that they were all feeding off of his negative energy.<br/><br/>“I don’t know if I want to take that test…” Alex breathed out, not taking his eyes off what he could see flashing by the window. “He’s a good guy, nothing like I would ever be. I can’t just take this happiness away from them. They were doing just fine without us, why change that now?”</p>
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<a name="section0002"><h2>2. ---------</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Everybody kept contact for the two months after their reunion, only some kept more contact than others knew. There were secrets being kept between people possibly capable of hurting others. Nobody knew anything about it other than the people directly involved. It was dangerous, they could get caught at any moment and ruin everything. The only thing that kept it from coming out was that there were no physical encounters, only text messages being shared outside the group chat. There was something fishy going on, but nobody realized. It was all done behind backs, nothing other than two phones providing proof.<br/><br/>But it couldn’t be hidden forever. It was bound to come out at some point. Little did they know how it was going to blow up the next time they met.<br/><br/>So, that’s where we are now, back at Lena’s and Anthony’s house. It was two months later meaning that Lena was just over five months pregnant. Her baby bump had been growing steadily but also didn’t protrude out too drastically. You could definitely see it if she was wearing a tight shirt, but with a loose-fitting shirt you could only see it if the shirt was falling the right way. It wasn’t anything special, it was how all pregnancies went.<br/><br/>All Time Low had just finished their tour and decided to come visit Lena, Anthony, and Nick soon after. Just like they had promised, they weren’t going to just disappear altogether. Even though Alex was having those serious doubts, he didn’t want Lena to think that he wanted to cut all ties with her again because he wasn’t over what happened between them. He was in a way trying to prove that everything was all cool with him although he was actually freaking out on the inside. Luckily, this time he was a lot calmer than the last time he had been at the beautiful house.<br/><br/>The group of guys rang the doorbell, Jack being the most excited to see Lena again. He was actually jumping up and down a little as he was the one stood at the very front with flowers in one hand and another gift in the other. Although he had nothing to do with the whole father situation, he was the one that somehow was most involved with Lena’s life. He’d text her frequently and ask how everything was going just for the sake of it. There was no harm done making sure somebody was doing ok… right?<br/><br/>Lena walked up to the front door and opened it just like she had done last time. She greeted them with big smiles and was immediately engulfed by Jack’s arms despite the fact that he had his hands full. It was quite a clumsy hug with Lena’s bump also causing there to be a bit more space between them, but all she could do was laugh at Jack’s antics and wrap her arms around him as well. Eventually, his excitement got the best of him and he broke apart from her.<br/><br/>“We got you a gift and flowers!” He said in a giddy tone, holding out both objects to Lena. “Well, I chose them, but we got them as a group gift. So, give me all the credit, ok?”<br/><br/>“You guys shouldn’t have.” Lena shook her head but still took both gifts from Jack with a grin on her face. “And, don’t worry, I’ll give you all the praise you want.”<br/><br/>“Open them, open them!” He urged next, hopping from one foot to the other just like Nick would do when he got excited about something. Basically, Jack acted just like the 5-year-old.<br/><br/>“Don’t you think I should first say hi to the others before I do that?” She giggled again and went to Rian to greet him next.<br/><br/>Jack groaned a little in anticipation, but let her make her circle of hugging the three other guys in his band. As soon as she was done with that, however, he was on her again, telling her to open it over and over. Lena rolled her eyes a little and told him to wait a little while longer, that she’d open them in the kitchen so that she could quickly put the flowers in the vase as well. Jack was on her heels as soon as they started making their way to said other room.<br/><br/>Lena put the flowers down on the counter and turned back towards Jack to opened the wrapped gift so that he could see exactly how she reacted. Out of habit, she carefully lifted up the tabs with tape, trying her best not to rip the paper, only making Jack more impatient. Eventually, she finally had opened it fully to reveal a custom-made All Time Low onesie and another one that was giraffe-themed, both for the baby.<br/><br/>The corners of Lena’s mouth curled up again as she hugged all the guys again, Jack at the end to give him the longest one to give him the credit he wanted. “This is so cute. Thank you guys so much!”<br/><br/>“Do you know the sex yet?” Alex asked, making eye contact with Lena that was slightly uncomfortable, but neither of them wanted to be the one to look away and seem suspicious.<br/><br/>Lena shook her head. “Nope, but we’ll found out at the next ultrasound. I’ll make sure to tell you guys.”<br/><br/>“But we can know for certain that this one isn’t Alex’s right?” Jack joked, but it only created more tension that could now be felt by everybody else. Zack elbowed Jack in his side, trying to subtly scold him for saying such a thing. It was way too soon to be making jokes like this already.<br/><br/>“I am one-hundred-percent sure that this one is <em>not</em> Alex’s and <em>is</em> Anthony’s.” Lena still answered to make it seem as if Jack’s question hadn’t done anything to her.<br/><br/>“You’re such an idiot, Jack,” Rian still commented with a slight glare. Jack really did only mean good, but sometimes things did not come over that way. It wasn’t his fault, he just didn’t have the best filter.<br/><br/>Lena folded up the onesies again and was about to ask the four guys if they wanted anything to drink. But Anthony already walked in with two six-packs of beer that he had gotten from the fridge in his studio. He hadn’t even realized that their guests had already arrived, but was only pleasantly surprised when he saw the band standing in his house.<br/><br/>“Beer is up for grabs,” he said to welcome them and went to give them all one of those bro-hugs men always gave each other. However, when he got to Alex, they shared a look.<br/><br/>Lena noticed it, but wasn’t sure what type of look it was. She was afraid that maybe Anthony was accusing Alex of something or even threatening him. It didn’t make sense with how he had treated the whole ordeal when it was suddenly thrown at him last time, but Lena had all the reason to be paranoid with the situation she was in.<br/><br/>“Why do we have so much beer?” Lena asked with a chuckle in her voice, trying to distract herself.<br/><br/>“Because we have a lot of guests coming over. Don’t forget Samantha is coming in a week and staying for a couple of days. We need to keep her satisfied.” Anthony clarified in a way that was not meant seriously at all.<br/><br/>Lena rolled her eyes and got the bottle opener from one of the drawers. “You’re making your sister sound like an alcoholic.”<br/><br/>“She practically is.” He nodded and used the bottle opener to open four beers which he gave to the All Time Low guys before opening one for himself as well.<br/><br/>“No, she’s not.” She shook her head to disagree. “Trust me, if she were, she would not be allowed in this house.”<br/><br/>“You guys are going to gang up on me as soon as she comes, aren’t you?” Anthony sighed melodramatically, proving that he was only joking around. He had a very weird relationship with his older sister that mainly consisted of teasing each other. She’d call him ‘Annie’ and he’d call her an alcoholic. It was how things normally went.<br/><br/>“You bet your ass...” Lena giggled and filled up a glass with water for herself. “... <em>Annie.”<br/></em><br/>He immediately glared at Lena since she knew exactly how much he hated being called that. “You did not just--”<br/><br/>“That’s my cue to go outside!” She interrupted and shuffled her way quickly to the French doors that were wide open and stepped out onto the back porch.<br/><br/>The warm air hit her skin and the bright light blinded her for a few seconds. As soon as her vision recovered, she looked out over her garden. It looked exactly the same as it did when All Time Low had visited the first time, only this time Nick was out running on the grass with Sofa jumping around him. The sight was what any woman who wanted to be a stay at home mom wanted to see some time in their life. Lena was just lucky to have gotten it so quickly.<br/><br/>Soon after, the others joined her and they moved over to the outdoor wooden table. They fell into a conversation mainly about the tour stories their guests were bringing back. Anthony felt nostalgic, thinking about the time he still toured around in a van with his band. Maybe All Time Low had upgraded to a tour bus a long time before, but it still reminded him of it. Also, don’t start thinking that he missed it; sure, he had good memories, but he wouldn’t change his life at all. To him, his life at that moment was already perfect. It was only going to get better when his second child was born.<br/><br/>Or was it his first?<br/><br/>“Wait, how’s your latest project going again? I forgot to ask you.” Lena asked Anthony when the subject slowly turned into something about his producing abilities.<br/><br/>Anthony shrugged, not thinking much about the thing he was working on. “The lead singer of the band still has problems with his vocal chords so he hasn’t been able to do anything for the recording process. They’re going to have to see if he’ll ever get better. For now, I sang some rough vocals for it so we could see what we wanted to tweak in the instrumentals.”<br/><br/>“You sang?” she gasped and her face lit up. “Now I definitely want to hear what you’ve been working on!”<br/><br/>He snorted a little as he burst out laughing. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. When I say rough vocals, I mean <em>rough</em>. I haven’t done any singing in ages!”<br/><br/>“If you won’t do it for her, do it for us.” Alex smirked with a devilish grin also wanting to know if Anthony actually did have good vocals and that Nick would have gotten his talent (as Jack had said) from him. “We do have to hear some work from a potential recording artist if we consider working with them. We still have a song to go for our new album and it needs to happen quick.”<br/><br/>“Please, please, please, please!” Lena begged, clasping her hands together and leaning forward as far as her baby bump would allow her.<br/><br/>“I can’t just show you unpublished stuff without permission from the band. I’ll have to contact them to see if they would let me.” Anthony made up as an excuse, leaning back in his chair.<br/><br/>“Oh, come on. They’ve asked me multiple times what I thought of their work so far and every single time I’ve had to say I haven’t looked at it yet. Plus, anybody would love their work to be listened to by respectful artists!”<br/><br/>“Ok, fine!”<br/><br/>And so they all managed to be let through the heavy door that had a number pad on it with an emergency keyhole that could be used if there ever was a power outage. It was just to make sure nobody would manage to get their way into the building that was once a small pool house but had been converted into a fully equipped studio. All the stuff in there was super expensive. Nobody would risk accidentally leaving the door unlocked.<br/><br/>The studio didn’t look like any old studio that was boring and only made to compensate the technical details. It was more like a modern man cave with its amazing couches and set up. The lights could even change colors and were often a dark blue or purple when Anthony had to work long hours since there weren’t really any windows. There was a microphone and a drum kit in the same recording space, making enough space in the room with the control panel to have a small fridge and even a pool table. It was heaven on earth for most men.<br/><br/>Rian’s mouth immediately opened wide when he saw the soundboard, admiring it without daring to touch a thing. The other three were more focused on looking at the space in general while Anthony was clicking some of the things to get to the most recent version of the new song. Lena, however, was a little more focused on something else. There was a whiteboard on a wall with the progress the band was making, but right next to it was a mood board that she was attracted to.<br/><br/>Her eyes fell on a polaroid and she took a deep breath in. “You did not!”<br/><br/>“What?” Anthony asked, not taking his eyes off of what he was doing.<br/><br/>Lena kept staring at the photograph that had been taken years ago when she and Anthony were still in their ‘having-fun’ phase. She couldn’t exactly remember where it had been taken, but she still remembered the actual scene. There was a pool, she had stripped off all her clothes and jumped into the refreshing water, Anthony had been laughing while also staring at her fully naked body and took the Polaroid photo of her while he was still standing on the edge. Soon after, he had also jumped in and we can all guess what happened after that. This was back when they were still carefree and Anthony was going through a slight hipster moment.<br/><br/>How dare he even put a photo like this in a place that was frequently visited by other guys that she didn’t even know!<br/><br/>Jack peered over her shoulder to see the photo in which you could clearly see she was naked but that water ripple made it just too difficult to make out all her features. “It’s nothing we haven’t seen before.”<br/><br/>“Excuse me!” Lena shrieked, not only because of Jack’s comment but also because he was now seeing her naked in a photo.<br/><br/>“I’m just saying,” he shrugged, once not again not thinking before speaking, “we all caught you and Alex having sex before.”<br/><br/>“Well, I’m sorry,” she mocked, holding the photo to her chest so nobody else could see. She couldn’t believe Jack. Why would he even mention such a thing when she was with Anthony and Alex was also in the room. “I don’t think that has anything to do with this.”<br/><br/>“Now I’m curious,” Zack piped up. “Is it bad that I’m curious? I don’t want to see the photo, but it can’t be that bad!”<br/><br/>“Oh, the swimming pool photo!” Anthony nodded in understanding, the smirk already evident in his voice. “I remember taking that.”<br/><br/>“Oh my god, how do you even remember that!” Lena scrunched up her nose in disgust. “That was before we even got serious!”<br/><br/>“You saying that just tells us all that you also remember it.”<br/><br/>“Yeah, but I didn’t keep any of the photos that were taken!”<br/><br/>“Wait, there are more?” Anthony acted oblivious, turning to Lena with a frown on his face.<br/><br/>“You’re just trying to put this on me.” She glared at her boyfriend accusingly. “I’m not the one who took the pictures in the first place.”<br/><br/>“Something tells me that you still remember exactly what was in those photos.”<br/><br/>She shook her head knowing that anything she said was only going to make it worse for herself. “You’re stalling. Just play that goddamn song.”<br/><br/>“Somebody’s sleeping on the couch tonight,” Rian commented with a laugh, happy the conversation had turned into playful bickering between the couple and Jack’s stupid remark was completely ignored.<br/><br/>“Yeah, right, that won’t ever happen,” Anthony said in a nonchalant tone and pressed the button to play the song through the loudspeakers before Lena could retort anything. But it was true. She had threatened him very often before, but the whole sleeping on the couch thing never worked out. It always turned out to be Lena getting the bad end because she couldn’t sleep properly. Especially now that she was pregnant, she couldn’t even get comfortable without Anthony there with her.<br/><br/>The happy strumming of the electric guitar filled the room, even surprising Lena. She was so used to hearing quite heavy rock and this was nothing of the like. This was completely indie pop with the quirky beats and guitar riffs, the bass line causing you to want to dance along. Even the All Time Low guys were pleasantly surprised, bobbing their heads along. Maybe working together wasn’t actually a bad idea. Anthony seemed to know what he was doing. And his singing wasn’t even half bad. Sure it was a little rough in the first verse since it was a very rough first take, but the chorus was already way better and actually sounded like it could be a final version of the song:<br/><br/><em>"You know I talk too much<br/>Honey, come put your lips on mine<br/>And shut me up<br/>We could blame it all on human nature<br/>Stay cool, it's just a kiss<br/>Oh, why you gotta be so talkative?<br/>I talk too much, we talk too much"<br/></em><br/>And that got Jack even more confused. Lena telling him that Nick had gotten his talent from Anthony first seemed like some comment any parent would say if they weren’t the one that was good at said skill. But she was actually right. Anthony could not only produce amazing songs, he could also sing if needed to. The whole who-is-the-father debate inside Jack’s head was only getting more complicated by the second.<br/><br/>“Dude, that’s a really catchy chorus!” Alex praised, immediately dissecting the song. “Especially the part where you keep descending. Did you help them write that?”<br/><br/>Anthony burst out laughing, pressing another button so the next song wouldn’t start playing. “Oh my god, no. They weren’t sure how to do the chorus, so that whole descending part is just a joke. We just needed something to work with for the time being. This isn’t a serious chorus at all.”<br/><br/>“Well, it’s a damn good joke. You should keep it.” Alex nodded, showing that he was honest about his opinion and didn’t purposely pick out the part that was apparently out of place.<br/><br/>“I’ll run it by the band. In the end, it’s their decision.” Anthony told him and started flicking random switches again. If it weren’t for a short clip of the song playing again, you wouldn’t even have noticed that he was editing it as he was speaking.<br/><br/>“Oh, no, don’t you dare.” Lena slapped his hands away.<br/><br/>“Just let me finish this one part!”<br/><br/>“If you get started, you won’t be able to stop. Just let go before you lose control.”<br/><br/>“Okay.” Anthony quickly saved the song and turned off the soundboard before he got carried away. “It’s a bad addiction. At least I’m not an alcoholic like Sam.”<br/><br/>“Your sister’s not an alcoholic!” Lena tried to make clear. She was afraid that her guests were actually going to start believing Anthony. They didn’t know it was a recurring joke between the siblings. Before she knew it, there were going to be people thinking she actually was ok with an alcoholic staying in her house for a few days while her son was there. That would happily convince Alex to believe Nick was his son and then take him away from her.<br/><br/>“That’s what she wants you to think.” Anthony tapped his temple three times and started making his way back to the door to let everybody out. Staying inside on such a beautiful day for no reason wasn’t a good idea either.<br/><br/>“You’re so mean to her.” She rolled her eyes and followed him out.<br/><br/>Anthony stayed behind while everybody went back to the porch so that he could lock up everything properly. He didn’t want to accidentally leave something unsecured and then regret it later on. What it did mean, however, was that Lena had some time alone with the All Time Low guys. It wasn’t long or anything, but it was long enough for her to have to walk beside Alex the entire few yards that were just grass.<br/><br/>“So, how are you doing?” Alex asked out of the blue, coming up with a small talk question that wasn’t exactly appropriate anymore for how long he had already been there.<br/><br/>Lena looked around the garden as if that would answer the question. “I mean, I think I’m doing pretty well for myself.”<br/><br/>“Ok, yeah, that’s good, of course.” Alex nodded, not really having thought of where the conversation was to go next.<br/><br/>Lucky for him, the awkward silence to come was filled for him. Nick happened to run right past them at that very moment and trip over thin air. Alex stabilized him before he actually fell to the ground, creating some sort of weird invisible bond. Or, at least it felt like a bond to him.<br/><br/>“Be careful!” Lena scolded her son.<br/><br/>But he was already running off again without taking much notice of what had happened. “Sorry!”<br/><br/>“Well, isn’t he a hyper little dude?” Alex chuckled under his breath, putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans.<br/><br/>“He’s always been like this as soon as he could walk. Sometimes he's a little too excited and all over the place, but he’s a good guy. He wouldn’t harm a fly.” Lena agreed as her face lit up. Talking about her son always got her mood to be elevated without even needing to do anything.<br/><br/>“Talk about good parenting.”<br/><br/>“Or genes.” She added as they reached the porch and went to sit with Rian, Jack, and Zack who had already found their seats from before.<br/><br/>Alex tried to act like what she had said didn’t do anything to him, but his heart dropped and his pupils had dilated a little for a second. He didn’t know what to do, he felt so bad. Everything was so messed up. He knew Lena probably meant it as a joke, something she would say to anybody, not really thinking of how it would fold out in this context, but it affected him more than it should have.<br/><br/>Although all six of them acted like nothing was going on, as if they were all best friends for no other reason than wanting to be around each other. But it wasn’t that simple. They all knew they only had gotten contact with each other because of one specific thing. If Nick hadn’t even looked so much like Alex, they probably wouldn’t have ever spoken to each other again after the concert. Things just happened to go the way they had.<br/><br/>Four of them didn’t know, however, that two had been very secretive behind the others’ backs.<br/>Alex was the one to bring it up, no longer feeling comfortable with the pressure. “So, umm, I wanted to suggest something. I mean, umm, Anthony and I kind of already talked a bit about it, so this isn’t just something coming out of the blue.”<br/><br/>Everybody except for Alex and Anthony thought it may have been about a career possibility. That Alex had asked Anthony to produce a song for them despite not having asked his band’s permission. But that wasn’t it at all. It was way different. Only, Alex couldn’t get it out. He stared at Anthony, hoping he’d take over.<br/><br/>“Yeah, just some stuff about the paternity test,” Anthony spoke, but only to guide Alex, not to say the exact thing. “Alex was thinking about some stuff and asked me what I thought…”<br/><br/>And that was Alex’s cue to finally say it even though he was afraid. “I don’t want to do this paternity test.”<br/><br/><em>“What?!”</em> Jack screeched. All this work for nothing? Was he the only one that cared? He thought Alex wanted to know. That’s why he started it all in the first place!<br/><br/>“Let me finish first.” Alex took a calm breath to show that he wasn’t going to be mad but just wanted to communicate his thoughts. “I just think it’s the best thing to do. It would be unfair to Nick to just throw this at him, even if we slowly ease him into it… that is, of course, if I am the father. Anthony agrees with me. We didn’t even consider what this would have done to Nick.”<br/><br/>“But don’t you want to--”<br/><br/>“Jack, this is not your decision to make unless you’re being the one tested. As far as I know, he definitely isn’t your kid,” Alex sighed in a stressed out way. “Unless there’s something you want to tell us.”<br/><br/>Jack’s eyes widened with shock as he stared at Lena. He shook his head rapidly, pursing his lips as if he was trying to stop himself from blurting out something. As if that didn’t seem suspicious at all. And Lena knew exactly what it looked like Jack’s actions were implying. It wasn’t any good; it would only make it messier.<br/><br/>“If you are implying that I also slept with Jack, I’m going to stop you right there.” Lena interrupted any thoughts that could have been going through the men’s minds. “I did not. It’s either Alex or Anthony, I never did anything stupid like that. So, I would appreciate us thinking before speaking because so far everything is making me look bad.”<br/><br/>“Ok.” Alex nodded, also noticing he completely went off topic. “I didn’t mean for it to come out that way. It was me just blowing up on Jack a little for needing to have a say in this. Anyway, I still think it’s best for us not to take the test. I just want to know your opinion on it, not Jack’s.”<br/><br/>“Do what you want.” Lena shrugged seeming like she didn’t care about it anymore. “I can’t force you to give somebody your DNA so they can test it. I will support your decision no matter what you choose.”<br/><br/>“Are you sure?”<br/><br/>Right at that moment, the oven timer started beeping. Before the guys had come over, she was baking a cake with Nick. Well, they started it together but Nick quickly got distracted. That kid loved being outdoors and could just spend hours running around in the garden not doing much. Lena wasn’t complaining, though. She liked that he loved playing outside and wasn’t anything like most kids who would stare at a tablet screen for days on end.<br/><br/>“Perfect timing, huh?” Lena snorted but got up nonetheless. She couldn’t just leave the alarm and finish the conversation. That would ruin the cake, which would then cause Nick to be upset even though he didn’t do anything to help.<br/><br/>She stood up and slowly pushed her chair back so she could get away and walk into the kitchen. Of course, she felt the stares as she was leaving, but she acted like she didn’t take note of it. It wasn’t like she was trying to avoid the situation, because all she wanted was to get it over and done with. There was no point trying to drag it out. It would only cause more problems. They just had to make their decision now and leave it be.<br/><br/>Once she was in the kitchen, she grabbed the oven mitts and took her time taking the cake out of the hot oven. She put it down on the counter and turned back around to close the oven once her hands were empty. If she was honest, she really only thought that was all that was going to happen and she’d return back outside right after. There wasn’t much she could do before the cake cooled down, so she wasn’t going to stay there much longer than she had to. But something else kept her there.<br/><br/>Alex and Anthony joined her, both studying her face when she noticed they were there.<br/><br/>She frowned back at them, putting back the oven mitts in the drawer she had gotten them from. “What?”<br/><br/>“We decided to come here to talk since we are the only three directly involved in this. Maybe it’s best for us to discuss this without anybody else interrupting,” Anthony told her, referencing back to what happened with Jack.<br/><br/>She nodded, understanding what he was getting at. “Ok. What’s there to discuss?”<br/><br/>“That Anthony and I were thinking of not doing the test, to just leave it be.” Alex elaborated, thinking it was weird that Lena would forget so quickly.<br/><br/>Of course, she knew, though. “Yeah, ok. But still. It’s your decision. You guys are the ones that have to provide DNA. It’s your legal right to choose not to do it.”<br/><br/>“I get that,” Alex started to get frustrated even though there was no reason for him to do so already, “but I want to know what you think about it. I don’t care about the facts, we want to know your personal opinion on this."<br/><br/>“I can’t form an opinion without knowing your reasoning behind it. And I don’t believe it’s just about you not wanting to hit Nick with something like this. He’s only five, he won’t know what’s going on until we have to explain it to him.”<br/><br/>Alex stared at her for a second or two, unsure how to voice what was on his mind the entire time. It was so much easier to do through a text message to Anthony. Now he actually had to say it out loud. “Because last time we were here I saw how great your family is and all. You all have an amazing relationship with each other. I don’t want to suddenly come in between that. That would be wrong. Even if you say it’s ok, I’ll feel horrible about it.”<br/><br/>“Alex told me a while ago.” Anthony added to make sure he wouldn’t suddenly be singled out. “I asked him if he was sure multiple times, but he has his heart and mind set towards it.”<br/><br/>“Ok, I understand. Nice of you to tell me now.” Lena smiled at them, but the sarcasm was hidden too well.<br/><br/>“So, what do you think?” Alex asked once more just to double check.<br/><br/>“What do I think? Well, let me see… You,” she pointed at Alex, “I think you are too afraid to find out that he’s your son and that you’ll feel guilty for not being there despite not even knowing that he is. And you,” her finger panned towards her boyfriend’s chest, “I think you’re too afraid that he isn’t your son and you’re scared that it will affect your relationship with Nick because you love that boy to death. I also think that both of you,” she pointed between the two men, “are maybe a little afraid that it will turn out that neither of you is the father because that’s apparently the girl I seem to be. You might be able to get past it all, but I’ll always look at him and be unsure which one of you two gave me him. But, hey, you guys choose what to do. At least I know for sure that he’s my son.”<br/><br/>Anthony looked at his girlfriend with a shocked expression, not having expected to suddenly have gotten such a long speech from her. But she was right. It was exactly what he was afraid of. He was afraid that Alex would turn out to be Nick’s father, taking his place in the family. He would no longer be Nick’s proper father figure despite the five years they had both believed he was. Alex would take that from him. And of course there was also the small fear that Lena would run to Alex. She had said so many times that he would always be the guy she would spend the rest of her life with, but maybe news like this would change it all. As soon as Alex voiced his concerns, Anthony felt so relieved that he wasn’t the one who wanted to stop it all. But Lena had to agree to the decision as well.<br/><br/>“So you do want us to take the test?” He asked, feeling dumb for even asking.<br/><br/>“Personally, I’d like to know which one of you is the father so I would stop feeling so guilty. Right now I feel like I’ve lied to both of you. Anthony because I made you believe for sure that Nick was yours since I also thought so, and Alex because I never told you since I never even thought of the possibility. At least I’ll know if this guilt is for no reason or not. And that might seem selfish, so I don’t want to have the final word. It’s you guys who might have your lives changed completely. In the end, it’s all your choice.” Lena took a deep breath and went back outside to show that she really did not have another thing to say. She didn’t need all this extra drama. All she wanted was to go to a concert with her son to see his uncle and she was now stuck with this.<br/><br/>Jack looked up at her expectantly to see if she was there with any news. But Lena just ignored the look and sat back down. She needed to keep calm if she wanted her pregnancy to go just as smooth as it had with Nick. There was no way she was going to make some unnecessary drama get in the way of that.<br/><br/>“Did you convince them to take the test?” Jack asked when he noticed he wasn’t just going to get an answer to his unspoken question.<br/><br/>Lena shrugged and leaned back in her chair. “I honestly don’t care. They can do whatever they want.”<br/><br/>“You don’t mean that, do you?” He questioned further although he was trying to stop himself from being too nosey and involved.<br/><br/>“It’s not that important, is it? I mean, we all haven’t seen each other in five years and we have been doing just fine before that.”<br/><br/>“But don’t you want to know?” Zack decided to join in. He didn’t want to make it worse for Lena, but even he felt like she was acting weird.<br/><br/>“Well, yeah. Of course I want to know whether or not I was an idiot, but I’m not going to force somebody to do something they don’t want. I’m not that kind of person.” Lena explained again. She was being genuine, and she just couldn’t comprehend the fact that nobody believed her.<br/><br/>Rian had his say too. “I think you’re being very reasonable, but don’t be afraid to say what you want and fight for it.”<br/><br/>She was about to try and explain again that she really was fine with it all, but Anthony and Alex came back outside as well. They were standing and looked down at the whole group. It was obvious that they were going to make an announcement and it most definitely was about what they had discussed with each other.<br/><br/>“Make a final decision?” Rian asked them, also not being able to take all the suspense anymore. “I hope it’s the right one. I don’t know which one that is, but we’ll find out.”<br/><br/>Alex made eye contact with Lena as his heart rate started picking up and his heart dropped. He swallowed, hoping to get rid of the dry spot in his throat, and nodded. “Yes, we’ve decided that it’s best to--”<br/><br/>Before he could get the full answer out, Nick came running up to the porch and stood beside his mother. He grabbed a handful of snacks and sat down on her lap. She wrapped her arms around his small body and placed her chin on top of his head, looking up at the two men who wouldn’t dare say a word with Nick around.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. ---------</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lena was approaching eight months, making her feel like she was ready to get it done and over with. She spent more time trying to get comfortable on the couch or in bed than she actually spent resting. Occasionally even the kicking made her feel nauseous despite the morning sickness being long over. After six months, she already felt ready to give birth and was done with being pregnant. It was quite normal to be fed up, but Lena still felt horrible. Society made it seem like being pregnant was supposed to be wonderful and made you glow. Sure, she was happy and excited in the beginning, but the weight just kept accumulating and she was having trouble doing the simplest of things.<br/><br/>Still, that didn’t stop her from trying to do her usual ‘duties’ whenever Anthony had people over at his studio recording music. As a stay at home mom, she liked taking care of people. So, she’d often make sure Anthony and the artists would have food if they didn’t want or if they didn’t have the time to go out and get their own. Sometimes she would make the best sandwiches, other times she’d go completely out and cook something, and other times she just went out to buy something. With how pregnant she was, it often turned out to be the latter. She just didn’t have the energy to stand on her feet long enough to make some homemade food. But all the artists loved their junk food, especially the All Time Low boys.<br/><br/>So, yet again, Luna had gone out to buy them some food, feeling better about walking short distances than standing in one place for too long. She put all the bags on the table outside, assuming the guys would like to get some fresh air after an entire morning in the studio, especially with the weather still being great. After putting out plates and something to drink, including four beers and water with lemons in it, she walked the distance to the studio, careful not to trip.<br/><br/>She knocked on the door and let herself in, smiling at the guys who were listening to the most recent take. “Hey, guys, your food’s here. It almost made me throw up, but I pushed through.”<br/><br/>“You shouldn’t have gotten it if it makes you want to throw up!” Anthony laughed and got up from his chair behind all the controls. He wanted nothing more than for his girlfriend to just relax, but she always insisted on doing things. The least he could do was actually go to her when she called, unlike he would usually do when working on music.<br/><br/>“How are you doing?” Jack asked, putting his guitar back in the stand, happy to go eat the Taco Bell he and the others had asked for.<br/><br/>“Just hoping I don’t pass out,” Luna joked while all the guys were figuring out what to leave behind and what to take with them, some finishing a text they were sending.<br/><br/>“Pass out?” Alex asked with a frown, stuffing his phone into his back pocket. “From the food?”<br/><br/>“No,” she chuckled and entered the room so she was no longer blocking the doorway. “Babies usually turn head down around this time. With Nick, it was like one swift motion and made me pass out.”<br/><br/>“She literally passed out after walking down the stairs. So, that was fairly lucky,” Anthony recalled, remembering when they were going out for dinner and the elevator was broken in their apartment building. It was one of the times he could admit he was absolutely terrified without seeming ‘unmanly’, or according to society. “At least I know what to do now.”<br/><br/>“It’s easier the second time around, I guess,” Rian commented, seeming like the only one ready to actually leave but not wanting to be the first to go without anybody following.<br/><br/>“Easier for him, not for me,” Lena snorted and crossed her arms. Sure, there were fewer things that worried her. But actually carrying a child and giving birth wasn't any easier.<br/><br/>“I suggest we go get that food before we get her mad and she takes it away from us,” Anthony warned, wiping his hands on his shirt. Suddenly, he seemed like he was in a rush to get everybody going despite being relaxed before. It was almost like he suddenly remembered another thing they had to do for the song and that they were now on a time crunch. But that wasn’t it at all.<br/><br/>There were three people who were very nervous that day, but they were all trying to ignore it. A letter had arrived not long before and they planned to open it that day. They could have chosen to opt for a phone call, but they wanted to make sure they were all there. Just a while before, they had sent their DNA to a lab. Alex and Anthony had decided to go through with the paternity test. Although both were afraid, they knew that they had to do it or else everybody would always have that question in the back of their mind. Anthony wouldn’t know if the child he had been raising was actually biologically his own, Alex wouldn’t know if he was actually a father, and Lena would never know whether or not she was lying to her own child. It was important to know.<br/><br/>Anthony just seemed particularly extra nervous despite being the one who was exceptionally okay with everything that had been happening to his family. He never got mad at Alex, he never felt like Lena betrayed him, and he never felt the need to leave. Even though he didn’t have those malicious thoughts, he really was the bigger man in the entire process.<br/><br/>After the four boys of All Time Low had left the studio, Lena went to follow them. However, Anthony held her back.<br/><br/>“Wait, Lena, can I talk to you real quick?” he asked, reaching out a clammy hand and tapping her on the elbow to gesture for her to stay.<br/><br/>“Yeah, what’s up?” She smiled and turned back around, closing the door a little in case this was going to be a private conversation.<br/><br/>Anthony took a deep breath in and closed the distance between them, taking hold of her hands. “I know a lot’s happening right now, and I know a lot might change, but I want you to know no matter what I’m always here for you.”<br/><br/>“I know,” Lena giggled, not taking the conversation a seriously. “You’re the one that went out to buy me pickles at two am a couple of nights ago.”<br/><br/>He shook his head, “you know that’s not what I mean and you know I love you, right?”<br/><br/>Suddenly Lena felt how serious this actually was and not just a casual conversation. The smile on her face dropped. “You didn’t do anything stupid, did you?”<br/><br/>“No, no, of course not,” he quickly said to calm down Lena before she started over thinking his words. “I just want you to know, before we find out whatever the results are, that I love you, I love Nick, and I love our little unborn baby who will be here soon.” He carefully slipped his hands onto Lena’s belly and smiled lovingly at it.<br/><br/>“I love you too,” she replied, putting her hands over his.<br/><br/>“What I’m trying to say is…” He didn’t get down on one knee, he didn’t make any romantic gesture, there wasn’t another entire speech about how much he loved her. All he did was pull out the velvet box from his pocket and opened it in front of Lena, holding it in her direction. “Will you marry me?”<br/><br/>“Ant--”<br/><br/>“I know it might seem a little rash, but I’ve loved you for six years of my life. I never thought I would find a girl I would want to marry, but I’ve already known for a while that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And I know our life’s going to be hectic, that you don’t want the stress of planning a wedding on top of the stress of having a newborn, but I don’t mind waiting another six years or more until we plan our wedding. I just want it to happen someday.”<br/><br/>“But we always agreed that we didn’t need to get married,” Lena answered, staring at the engagement ring that was being offered to her. “That we could be in love, have a family, and grow old together without it. Don’t get me wrong, I love you and would love to marry you, I just don’t want you to regret this later on.”<br/><br/>“I won’t ever regret this,” Anthony promised, pleading her to look past everything they had said before.<br/><br/>“Okay,” Lena nodded, putting her hands on Anthony’s cheeks and kissing him softly, smiling when she pulled away, “yes, I’ll marry you.”<br/><br/>She just felt like celebrating it right now was the wrong thing to do. There was one more thing they had to do before celebrating was an option. Even after that, it would seem wrong. She couldn’t celebrate if any of the guys found out they weren’t the father. But she didn’t mind having her own celebration a little later just with Anthony.<br/><br/>While Anthony put the ring on her finger, the All Time Low boys were outside at the table, a little confused why their producer and hostess weren’t with them and were hiding out in the studio. Well, it made sense why Lena didn’t want to be around the food, but she wouldn’t ever hold back Anthony.<br/><br/>“Where are they?” Zack was the first to question after they had all already started their tacos. “Weren’t you guys going to look at the results right now?”<br/><br/>“Yeah.” Alex nodded with his mouth full, putting down what was left of his broken Taco. “But they’re probably having a conversation beforehand. I get it.”<br/><br/>“Do <em>you</em> need to have a conversation?” Jack asked sheepishly, feeling for his best friend. Even he could barely eat, he was that nervous.<br/><br/>“What’s there to talk about?” Alex shrugged, making a point by refusing to drink alcohol and instead going for the water. He didn’t need comments about his trying to drink the nerves away.<br/><br/>“What you will do when you know the results, what you will do if he is your son, what you will do if he isn’t, if you’re nervous or not… to name a few,” Rian listed.<br/><br/>Once again, Alex seemed impartial. “I don’t know what I’ll do until I know the results. And I think we’ve kinda dragged out the whole ‘are you nervous?’ and ‘what do you want?’ thing for way too long. I’ll be fine, guys.”<br/><br/>“Are you sure?” Jack double checked.<br/><br/>But even if Alex had doubts, it was too late now. Anthony and Lena appeared out of the studio, still seeming as happy and calm as always. While he had felt calm before, seeing them suddenly made Alex nervous. Although they had assured him many times, he didn’t want to ruin what they had. But he couldn’t get cold feet now.<br/><br/>When Anthony and Lena came onto the porch, everybody could see the sparkling ring that now resided on her left ring finger, but they didn’t announce anything, so nobody mentioned it either. It was just impossible to miss. The guys immediately knew what had happened in that studio unless they had somehow missed it earlier (which wasn’t possible as said before).<br/><br/>“So, you want to…” Lena pointed at the door and looked at Alex.<br/><br/>“Oh, yeah, right,” Alex said as if he hadn’t just been talking about it and quickly wiped his hands to clean them before getting up and following the couple through the door, closing it behind himself.<br/><br/>Lena got the letter as the men sat at the indoor dining table. The more relaxed and comfortable place to sit would have been in the living room, but Anthony knew Lena had trouble sitting down and getting off the fairly low couch. They all sat at that table together, Lena at the head, Anthony to her right and Alex to her left.<br/><br/>“Okay,” she put the letter, which was still in its envelope, in the middle, “so… who’s going to open it?”<br/><br/>“I think you should,” Anthony said, pushing the letter in Alex’s direction, “your life could quite possibly be the one which changes the most depending on the contents.”<br/><br/>However, Alex didn’t know how to react. Was he supposed to be happy when it said he was the father or was he supposed to be happy when it said he wasn’t the father? Both seemed inappropriate. Being happy about being the father was like being happy he was happy about ‘ruining’ a family; being happy about not being the father made him seem like he didn’t like Nick or kids in general. At least Nick was at school, so that made things a little easier. But still, he couldn’t be the one that had to give the first reaction. The only one he could possibly think had a clear reason to be happy about one outcome was Anthony. Lena wouldn’t want to hurt either, so she wouldn’t dare be ecstatic if it said Anthony was the father just for Alex. However, if Anthony read he was the father he’d be happy, and upset if he wasn’t. Alex didn’t blame him, though. They were supposed to be happy if Anthony was the father.<br/><br/>“No,” Alex quickly made up an excuse to give it back to Anthony, “he’s your kid, you should open it.”<br/><br/>Anthony nodded, his lips in a straight line, and looked at the letter for a few seconds, before giving it back to his girlfriend--or now fianceé. “Lena?”<br/><br/>“Oh my god, I get that you guys are scared, but you’re just being babies now. I’ll open the letter and we’ll read it together.” Lena snatched the letter away from Anthony and tore it open, causing the men to hold their breath.<br/><br/>When she straightened her arms so the others could read as well, still holding the folded letter, Lena also started getting nervous. She wanted nothing more than Anthony to be the father. It might have been selfish, but it was allowed in this circumstance. She wanted to have her family and not have that guilt for the rest of her life. But she would never ever push Alex and the others away again. They were in her life again, and she wouldn’t lose that. So even if Alex wasn’t the father, she was determined to keep him around. Just as friends, but still.<br/><br/>She finally opened the folded paper and started reading it along with the others. Her heart was pounding as she let out her breath. And there it was, the answer. The one thing that had brought them together and could be a significant turning point.<br/><br/>After some silence, they all went back outside. It felt weird knowing the answer after having been busy with it for so long. They all hoped it wouldn’t change anything between them, but that was probably inevitable. That answer was going to change things.<br/><br/>“And?” Jack pressed, not able to stand the suspense.<br/><br/>Alex put on a smile, still unsure if he was supposed to be happy or not, but not wanting to be rude either. “I don’t have a son.”<br/><br/>They all looked at him, also unsure whether to celebrate with him or get up and console him. Nobody knew how to feel, except for Anthony and Lena who were quite relieved and glad. They had gotten engaged and their kids really were theirs. But they didn’t show it off, though. Instead, they were humble to keep Alex in mind and not to make him feel bad about himself if that was the underlying feeling he was suppressing.<br/><br/>“But, hey, these guys got engaged. Why aren’t we celebrating?” He pointed at them, trying to lighten up the mood and let Anthony and Lena have their moment of happiness.<br/><br/>However, as if on cue, Lena suddenly passed out, like she had been afraid of earlier and the past few weeks. Anthony managed to take hold of her before she came close to hit the floor, but she was too heavy for him to catch properly, so he only managed to slowly let her fall the distance.<br/><br/>“Oh, fuck!” Jack shrieked as he was right next to Lena’s unconscious body.<br/><br/>Although it scared him as well, Anthony knew better than to freak out and instructed, “she’s probably fine, just be ready to give her some water when she wakes up. It’s probably exactly what she was telling you about earlier.”<br/><br/>“Are you sure?” Alex asked now unsure about whether or not to help or to give space. “That was absolutely terrifying. That mustn’t be good for the baby.”<br/><br/>“We’ll find out when she wakes up.”<br/><br/>And then she did. She looked confused and tried to get up but Anthony told her to stay down before they were sure everything was okay. Jack offered the water like he was told to, and it soon became clear that nothing bad had happened, just that she had gotten lightheaded.<br/><br/>“I was going to warn you, but something tells me I didn’t get to do that,” Lena chuckled at how everybody around her seemed so concerned.<br/><br/>“No, you didn’t,” Anthony let out a breath and a relieved laugh. “Did the baby flip?”<br/><br/>She nodded, putting her hand on her stomach. “I thought it wouldn’t happen cause all pregnancies are different, but it might just be our genes. I felt it happen and just felt dizzy, so I was going to tell you. But we all know I just passed out with no warning.”<br/><br/>“Okay.” He seemed way calmer now he had gotten a confirmation, but was still crouched in front of her. “It’s time to pick up Nick. I’ll go do that.” He turned to the All Time Low guys. “Are you guys cool with looking after her until I’m back?”<br/><br/>“Yeah, of course.” Rian nodded in understanding while they were all cautious and Lena was helped into the chair Jack was sitting in first.<br/><br/>“Oh no, you can’t do that,” Lena disagreed with Anthony. “You have to work.”<br/><br/>“I’m sure half an hour won’t make that much of a difference. And if it does, I’ll just work overtime,” Anthony told her even though he often worked way longer than he was supposed to anyway. It was just him telling the All Time Low boys that they wouldn’t have to pay for that extra time he would be spending picking up Nick.<br/><br/>Anthony left Lena with the four men, confident they would take good care of her. However, as soon as he left, the atmosphere turned a little awkward. Maybe it was because Lena had just fainted and nobody wanted to make it worse for her, maybe it was because of the news they had all just heard, or maybe it was because they usually hung out when Anthony was around as well. All that was sure was that there was a strange tension.<br/><br/>“So,” Alex broke the silence, using the same subject as before to brighten up everybody, “you just got engaged!”<br/><br/>“Yeah, I guess so.” Lena smiled, never having expected to be where she was in life at that moment.</p>
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